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Descriptive Summary

Creator:

Emma Thursby

Title:

Emma Thursby Papers

Dates:

1706-1940 (Bulk 1860-1940)

Abstract:

The collection contains information related to the singing career of Emma Thursby
and her family relationships. The collection documents the financial and career dealings
of a female concert singer in the late nineteenth century.

Biographical Note

Birth of Emma Cecilia Thursby, the second of five children (Alice, John, Louis and
Ina were her siblings) born to Jane Bennett Thursby and John Barnes Thursby.

1850

Emma Thursby's first concert appearance at the Old Bushwick Reformed Winter Church,
to which her family belonged.

1857-1859

Emma and her older sister Alice (also called Allie) study music at the Moravian Seminary
in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

November 17, 1859

The death of John Barnes Thursby is a financial blow to the Thursby family, and Emma's
musical training is put on hold. Emma practices her singing at home with her sisters.

1868-1871

Along with other appearances, Emma is engaged as the soloist at Plymouth Church in
Brooklyn, where Henry Ward Beecher is the pastor. Emma Thursby's income is the financial
mainstay for the Thursby family from this time onward.

1872-1873

Emma Thursby travels to Italy to train with Francesco Lamperti and Antonio Sangiovanni.

1875

In 1875 Emma Thursby begins studying with Erminia Rudersdorff, her most influential
teacher and advisor.

1876

As her national fame grows, Emma Thursby shares a bill at the Brooklyn Academy of
Music with Mark Twain, who read from his writings. She also sings at the Centennial
Exposition in Philadelphia.

1877

Emma Thursby signs a contract with Maurice Strakosch to be her voice teacher and manager.

1878-1879

Emma Thursby's travels to Europe for her first European concert tour. While in Europe
Emma meets Ole Bull, a famous Norwegian violinist, with whom she had forms a close
friendship. After Ole Bull's death, Emma remains friends with Sara Bull, Ole's wife,
and Olea Bull, his daughter.

1883

Emma purchases an apartment at 34 Gramercy Park and the entire Thursby family moves
in.

1884

Death of Jane Ann Bennet Thursby while Emma is on tour in Europe.

1885

Emma Thursby returns to New York shortly before death of her sister Alice.

1893

Emma is invited to be a member of the 'Advisory Council on a World's Congress of Representative
Women' at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. She performs at the Exposition,
and meets Swami Vivekananda, a Hindu monk whose teachings she begins to follow.

1889

Emma Thursby first visits Green Acre, an artist community in Maine formed by Sarah
Farmer. She also begins holding salons each Friday that function as both social and
musical occasions for the musical literati and visiting friends.

January 1899

Death of Emma's pet and traveling companion, Mynah bird.

1895-1924

Emma Thursby once again takes voice pupils.

1903-1904

Emma and Ina Thursby travel to Japan and China.

September, 1918

Death of John J. Thursby.

1924

Emma Thursby suffers a paralytic attack which leaves her left side paralyzed.

Scope and Content Note

The Emma Thursby Papers consist of material relating to the life and singing career
of Emma Cecilia Thursby, as well as the lives of members of her extended family. Included
are letters, telegrams, postcards, address books, diaries, engagement books, autographs,
calling cards; financial materials including receipts, bills, checkbook stubs, letters
of credit; legal papers such as contracts, wills, indentures, and deeds; poetry, programs,
periodical clippings, passports, notes, and a few photographs. The collection effectively
documents the financial and career dealings of a renowned concert singer in the late
nineteenth century. Emma Thursby traveled to many European countries, as well as to
Japan and China, both for her career and for pleasure, and most of these trips are
well documented. In addition, the many family letters included show the close family
network of siblings, aunts, uncles, and cousins that nurtured Emma Thursby.

The bulk of the collection is composed of the Correspondence and the Subjects series.
Letters from Ina Thursby to other family members from her travels with Emma provide
detailed information on Emma's concert dates, performances, travel, and voice study.
The Subjects series highlights Emma's interests after her own singing career had ended
such as Eastern religious philosophies or the salons she held every Friday. Specific
information about legal and financial aspects of Emma Thursby's career can be found
in the Financial or Legal series, but neither of these aspects is as complete a document
of her experience as can be found through correspondence.

Arrangement

Material is arranged either alphabetically or chronologically.

The Emma Thursby papers have been organized into the following series:

Family Name(s)

Occupation(s)

Administrative Information

Provenance

Donation by Ina Love Thursby, 1940-1941.

Access Restrictions

Open to qualified researchers.

Photocopying undertaken by staff only. Limited to twenty exposures of stable, unbound
material per day. (Researchers may not accrue unused copy amounts from previous days.)
Researchers on site may print out unlimited copies from microfilm reader-printer machines
at per-exposure rates. See guidelines in Reading Room for details.

Use Restrictions

Permission to quote from this collection in a publication must be requested and granted
in writing. Send permission requests, citing the name of the collection from which
you wish to quote and a transcription of your quote, to

Container List

Series I: Correspondence (1839-1940)

Scope and Contents note

The correspondence series contains correspondence between Thursby family members,
as well as from Emma Thursby's managers, fans, friends, and pupils. The series contains
information about important events (mainly deaths) in the lives of the Thursby family
members, offers and requests for Emma Thursby to perform, Emma Thursby's participation
in the philosophical community Green Acre in Eliot, Maine, and European travelogues
and concert reports. This series consists of letters, telegrams, postcards, calling
cards, envelopes, and stationery.

In all her travels Emma Thursby was accompanied by a close family member, perhaps
both in the role of chaperone and companion. Her older sister Alice accompanied her
on the first tours, and both her mother and Alice went along to Europe in 1878. Emma's
younger sister Ina came on this particular trip for only a few months, but would soon
accompany Emma on all tours and become her closest companion and confidante. During
these later tours it is Ina's letters to the family and friends back in Brooklyn which
provide much of the information about the concerts performed, receptions received,
friends met, spas visited, and sights seen throughout the years.

Each correspondence subseries is divided into incoming and outgoing material. Letters
are arranged alphabetically by the recipient or sender's name and then chronologically
for each person. Correspondents with ten or more letters have separate folders. In
addition, correspondents who comprised an entire envelope in the original housing
system have been given an individual folder. A few separate folders were also created
for important correspondents (such as the Paris Opera) regardless of number of letters.

Many Thursby family letters are addressed to more than one person (i.e. "Mother, Allie
and Lou.") In these cases, the letters have been assigned to the folder of the oldest
family member. A letter to "Allie, Lou and John" would be filed under Alice Thursby
(the order of children was Alice, Emma, John, Louis, and Ina). Family letters addressed
to "Dear sisters" are filed under Emma Thursby.

For the most part, envelopes are housed with their letters, either inside a card,
in an acid-free paper sling, or, if easily identifiable as belonging to the letter,
behind the letter. Envelopes that could not be matched to a specific letter are housed
in Subseries 8, Other Correspondence.

Subseries 1: Emma Thursby (1859-1931)

Scope and Contents note

The correspondence in this subseries dates from Emma Thursby's days at music school
in Pennsylvania as a young girl, and continues until a few days before her death.
Her letters to her family from her travels abroad detail her musical education, career,
and burgeoning social life on the European continent. Letters to friends such as Sara
Bull and her cousin Mary Elizabeth (Mollie) Bennett Comfort also contain thoughts
on her life outside her career, and philosophical interests such as Eastern religion.

Letters from pupils attest to Emma Thursby's popularity as a voice teacher. These
letters, most of which are mainly devoted to requesting or confirming dates of lessons,
were foldered separately at the time of the accession of the collection, and so have
been kept segregated from the other correspondence. Many of Emma Thursby's voice students
went on to become operatic or concert stars in their own right; correspondence from
these women is contained in Series 6, Subject and Biographical Information; Subseries
1, Emma Thursby. Emma and/or Ina Thursby seems to have kept a file on each of these
women, evidenced by the number of clippings and programs kept with these women's correspondence.

Many letters are addressed to both Emma and Ina Thursby. These letters, as well as
those addressed to "Miss Thursby" have been filed in this subseries, unless clearly
identified (based on information in the letter or on original envelope housing) to
belong to Ina Thursby.

The four volumes are red cases labeled "A -- G," "H -- M," "N -- R," and "S -- Z"
and contain letters written to Emma Thursby between 1871 and 1910. These letters were
item-level cataloged at the time of their accession; a complete listing is available
at the reference desk. Some of the correspondents included here (Edward Bok, Sara
Bull, Olea Bull, Sarah Farmer, Patrick Gilmore, May Jackson, Jeannie Ovington, Maurice
Strakosch, Maggie Van Cott, and [Swami] Vivekananda) also are represented in Boxes
1 -- 5. However, most of these letters were from one-time correspondents. The topics
range from thanks given for complimentary concert tickets, to sympathy at the death
of Thursby family members.

Container 1

Container 2

Title

Date

Box: 1

Folder : 1

Emma Thursby, letters received from A -- B

1888 -- 1931

Box: 1

Folder : 2

Emma Thursby, letters received from Ralph Bartlett

1911 -- 1930

Box: 1

Folder : 3

Emma Thursby, letters received from David Bispham

1907 -- 1912

Box: 1

Folder : 4

Emma Thursby, letters received from Sara Bull

1881 -- 1911

Box: 1

Folder : 5

Emma Thursby, letters received from Olea Bull

1883 -- 1911

Box: 1

Folder : 6

Emma Thursby, letters received from C

1877 -- 1929

Box: 1

Folder : 7

Emma Thursby, letters received from D

1901 -- 1914

Box: 1

Folder : 8

Emma Thursby, letters received from E

1905 -- 1927

Box: 1

Folder : 9

Emma Thursby, letters received from F

1873 -- 1912

Box: 1

Folder : 10

Emma Thursby, letters received from Sarah Farmer

1900 -- 1914

Box: 2

Folder : 1

Emma Thursby, letters received from G

1879 -- 1927

Box: 2

Folder : 2

Emma Thursby, letters received from H

1880 -- 1931

Box: 2

Folder : 3

Emma Thursby, letters received from Abraham Hill

1910 -- 1912

Box: 2

Folder : 4

Emma Thursby, letters received from I -- J

1892 -- 1913

Box: 2

Folder : 5

Emma Thursby, letters received from May Jackson

1887 -- 1905

Box: 2

Folder : 6

Emma Thursby, letters received from K

1904 -- 1921

Box: 2

Folder : 7

Emma Thursby, letters received from L

1878 -- 1916

Box: 2

Folder : 8

Emma Thursby, letters received from M

1891 -- 1916

Box: 3

Folder : 1

Emma Thursby, letters received from N -- O

1885 -- 1930

Box: 3

Folder : 2

Emma Thursby, letters received from P -- Q

1897 -- 1922

Box: 3

Folder : 3

Emma Thursby, letters received from Paris Opera

1881

Box: 3

Folder : 4

Emma Thursby, letters received from James B. Pond

1885 -- 1892

Box: 3

Folder : 5

Emma Thursby, letters received from R

1876 -- 1919

Box: 3

Folder : 6

Emma Thursby, letters received from S

1877 -- 1924

Box: 3

Folder : 7

Emma Thursby, letters received from Henry W. Shoemaker

1912 -- 1930

Box: 3

Folder : 8

Emma Thursby, letters received from T

1878 -- 1930

Box: 3

Folder : 9

Emma Thursby, letters received from J.G. Thorp

1911 -- 1912

Box: 3

Folder : 10

Emma Thursby, letters received from Alice Thursby

1881 -- 1885

Box: 3

Folder : 11

Emma Thursby, letters received from Ina Thursby

1903 -- 1912

Box: 3

Folder : 12

Emma Thursby, letters received from Thursby Family

1884 -- 1908

Box: 3

Folder : 13

Emma Thursby, letters received from U -- V

1886 -- 1910

Box: 4

Folder : 1

Emma Thursby, letters received from W -- X -- Y -- Z

1879 -- 1927

Box: 4

Folder : 2

Emma Thursby, letters received from World's Congress of Representative Women, Exposition
of 1893

1893

Box: 4

Folder : 3

Emma Thursby, letters received from Pupils A -- M

1897 -- 1912

Box: 4

Folder : 4

Emma Thursby, letters received from Pupils N -- Z

1898 -- 1927

Box: 4

Folder : 5

Emma Thursby, letters received from Unidentified

1901 -- 1931

Box: 4

Folder : 6

Emma Thursby, letters sent to A -- Z

1879 -- 1931

Box: 4

Folder : 7

Emma Thursby, letters sent to Jackson, May

1880 -- 1913

Box: 4

Folder : 8

Emma Thursby, letters sent to Moore, Mary C.

1887 -- 1903

Box: 4

Folder : 9

Emma Thursby, letters sent to Thursby, Alice

1880 -- 1882

Box: 4

Folder : 10

Emma Thursby, letters sent to Thursby, Ina

1872 -- 1929

Box: 4

Folder : 11

Emma Thursby, letters sent to Thursby, Jane B.

1859 -- 1882

Box: 5

Folder : 1

Emma Thursby, letters sent to Thursby, John J.

1887 -- 1912

Box: 5

Folder : 2

Emma Thursby letters sent to Thursby, Louis

1886 -- 1913

Box: 5

Folder : 3

Emma Thursby, letters sent to Thursby Family

1858 -- 1931

Volume: 1

Letters received from A-G

1876-1900

Volume: 2

Letters received from H-M

1875-1910

Volume: 3

Letters received from N-R

1871-1895

Volume: 4

Letters received from S-Z

1876-1900

Subseries 2: Ina Thursby (1872-1939)

Scope and Contents note

General alphabetical correspondence files contain letters from Ralph Bartlett, May
Jackson, Charles Schwab, and David Todd. Former pupils and associates of Emma's included
are Peggy Green (Princess Viggo,) Meta Reddish, Duchess de Richelieu, Amalia Strakosch,
Geraldine Ferrar, and Emma Nevada Palmer. Much of the general correspondence letters
are condolences to Ina upon the death of Emma Thursby. Ina also planned many memorial
events for Emma, including the installation of a mosaic at the Brooklyn Museum of
Art; many letters address these projects.

In 1903, both Emma and Ina Thursby made many friends in Japan with whom they corresponded
for years. Letters from Japanese friends in this series discuss visits and friend
Kakuzo Okakura's work establishing an Eastern Art wing at the Boston Museum of Fine
Arts. Letters to family members, especially Alice and her brothers, give great detailed
accounts of Ina's first trip with Emma to Europe in 1880 -- 1882.

Container 1

Container 2

Title

Date

Box: 5

Folder : 4

Ina Thursby, letters received from A

1901-1937

Box: 5

Folder : 5

Ina Thursby, letters received from B

1904-1939

Box: 5

Folder : 6

Ina Thursby, letters received from C

1878-1935

Box: 5

Folder : 7

Ina Thursby, letters received from Mary Elizabeth Bennett Comfortt

1931-1938 undated

Box: 5

Folder : 8

Ina Thursby, letters received from D -- E

1889-1936

Box: 5

Folder : 9

Ina Thursby, letters received from F -- H

1908-1931

Box: 6

Folder : 1

Ina Thursby, letters received from I -- L

1880-1937

Box: 6

Folder : 2

Ina Thursby, letters received from M -- O

1899-1937

Box: 6

Folder : 3

Ina Thursby, letters received from Kakuzo Okakura

1904-1912

Box: 6

Folder : 4

Ina Thursby, letters received from P -- R

1899-1937

Box: 6

Folder : 5

Ina Thursby, letters received from Shisui Rokkaku

1905-1908

Box: 6

Folder : 6

Ina Thursby, letters received from S

1886-1939

Box: 6

Folder : 7

Ina Thursby, letters received from Henry Shoemaker

1931-1937

Box: 6

Folder : 8

Ina Thursby, letters received from T -- Z

1882-1938

Box: 7

Folder : 1

Ina Thursby, letters received from Alice Thursby

1882

Box: 7

Folder : 2

Ina Thursby, letters received from, Unidentified

1892-1934

Box: 7

Folder : 3

Ina Thursby, letters sent to A -- Z

1886-1934

Box: 7

Folder : 4

Ina Thursby, letters sent to May Jackson

1898-1912

Box: 7

Folder : 5

Ina Thursby, letters sent to Mary C. Moore

1886-1891

Box: 7

Folder : 6

Ina Thursby, letters sent to Alice Thursby

1872-1882

Box: 7

Folder : 7

Ina Thursby letters sent to Jane B. Thursby

1880-1882

Box: 7

Folder : 8

Ina Thursby, letters sent to Louis Thursby

1878-1907

Box: 7

Folder : 9

Ina Thursby, letters sent to the Thursby Family

1859-1880

Subseries 3: Alice Thursby (1854-1889)

Scope and Contents note

Consists of letters from Alice Thursby to her aunt Mary C. Moore and to her brothers
Louis and John Thursby during her time abroad with Emma. Also contains letters written
by Alice to her parents from her time at the Moravian Seminary. Letters to Alice are
mainly condolences on the death of her mother.

Container 1

Container 2

Title

Date

Box: 7

Folder : 10

Alice Thursby, letters received

1884

Box: 7

Folder : 11

Alice Thursby, letters sent

1859-1878

Subseries 4: Jane B. Thursby (1870-1882)

Scope and Contents note

Contains correspondence to Jane B. Thursby from her son Louis while he was vacationing
in Florida, and a business letter about a monetary settlement granted her.

Container 1

Container 2

Title

Date

Box: 7

Folder : 12

Jane B. Thursby, letters received

1870-1882

Subseries 5: John B. Thursby (1839-1859)

Scope and Contents note

Contains letters written between John B. Thursby and his mother Hannah, and brother
Samuel, mainly during his trip to France and England just before his death in 1859.
Also includes letters written about Emma's musical education, and about John B. Thursby's
career.

Container 1

Container 2

Title

Date

Box: 7

Folder : 13

John B. Thursby, letters received

1839-1859

Box: 7

Folder : 14

John B. Thursby, letters sent

1850-1859

Subseries 6: Thursby family letters (1859-1913)

Scope and Contents note

Contains letters from Louis Thursby to John J. Thursby and a letter to Samuel Thursby
from the United States Consulate in London informing him of the death of his brother
John B. Thursby.

Container 1

Container 2

Title

Date

Box: 7

Folder : 15

Thursby family letters

1859-1913

Subseries 7: Mynah Bird (1892 -- 1894)

Scope and Contents note

Contains letters written to the Mynah bird owned by Emma and Ina Thursby, generally
thank you notes to him for entertaining visiting children.

Container 1

Container 2

Title

Date

Box: 7

Folder : 16

Mynah Bird, letters received

1892-1894

Subseries 8: Other Correspondence (1861-1940)

Scope and Contents note

This subseries is made up of letters that are not to or from any of the principal
members of the Thursby family, as above. People for whom more than ten pieces of correspondence
exists were given their own folder. The letters include people who played a large
part in Emma Thursby's life, such as her friend Jeannie Ovington, and her friend and
manager Maurice Strakosch. Much of the Strakosch correspondence is letters in foreign
languages attempting to schedule Emma Thursby concerts. Letters written to Richard
Gipson, Emma Thursby's biographer, are included here, as are letters detailing an
incident in which a Mrs. Edyth Ellerbeck Read wrote a profile of Emma Thursby and
was denied publication by the
Ladies' Home Journal.

General correspondence includes letters to Emma Thursby's Parisian friend May Jackson
from Jeannie Ovington, a facsimile of Longfellow's last letter, and letters to unnamed
managers of Emma Thursby requesting concert dates.

One folder of calling cards is in this subseries. Blank stationery with notable letterhead,
as well as photography envelopes and letter envelopes which could not be matched with
an actual letter, also make up this subseries.

Series II: Financial Papers (1706-1919)

Scope and Contents note

This series consists primarily of Emma Thursby's financial records dating from 1875
to 1915. Bills, receipts, letters of credit, lists of accounts and expenses make up
the bulk of the papers. Most of the letters of credit are from American Express to
various foreign banks during Emma Thursby's travels in Europe. Checkbook stubs and
small bound account books are included in Box 14. Some of her monetary expenses are
also documented in her engagement books in Series 4, Diaries, Address Books, and Engagement
Books.

A few financial papers of Emma Thursby's parents and sisters are also part of this
series. A bill for the initial purchases of Jane and John Thursby for their home after
their marriage is included. Bills for household goods and some small loan documentation
are in the folder, "Financial Papers: Thursby, Jane B. and John B," as are ledgers
detailing the daily pay of John B. Thursby's employees. These materials document the
kinds of mercantile transactions common in Williamsburgh and Bushwick during the middle
of the nineteenth century, as well as create an idea of the costs involved in running
the class of household Jane Thursby attempted.

Financial papers of the Van Cott and Bennet families, Emma Thursby's maternal grandparents
and relatives, are included in this series. These papers date from as early as 1706
and contain receipts and bills of sale, examples of quotidian life from Williamsburgh
and Bushwick, Brooklyn, New York. Two indentures and a pardon have been separated
to the oversize folder.

Series III: Legal Papers (1788-1903)

Scope and Contents note

Many papers in this series are copies of wills or affidavits of Emma Thursby's family
and friends, including Sara Bull, Sarah Farmer, Erminia Rudersorff, and Hannah Thursby
(Emma's grandmother). There are multiple copies of legal documents relating to the
Thursby siblings' right to title to a piece of land in Brooklyn.

Singing contracts Emma Thursby made with managers or proprietors of a venue are separately
foldered. These date from 1877 to 1891, the height of her singing career. Also included
are contracts made between managers, such as Maurice Strakosch, and the proprietor
of a venue. Documents that include the signature of Emma Thursby, the other party,
or both, were considered to be contracts.

Legal documents from the Van Cott and Bennet families are included here. These include
indentures, wills, deeds, and legal papers pertaining to guardianship. As with the
financial papers of these families, they are records of family affairs in early Brooklyn.
Some of these materials are oversized; most date from the Eighteenth century.

Series IV: Address Books, Diaries, Engagement Books (1868-1929)

Scope and Contents note

Emma Thursby did not keep any narrative diaries, but logged her activities, callers,
and monetary expenses in many small bound engagement books throughout her life. Many
of these books exist for a singular year; it is difficult to determine exactly how
she utilized each book (for example, although some of the account books consist solely
of lists of accounts; similar lists appear in other books from the same year.) Emma
Thursby also owned many address books. Some of these are marked with a certain city,
for example, "Boston," in which those named inside live. Others are less segregated.

A case was made for 57 of the smaller diaries, which date from 1868 to 1929, and embossed
with the words "Emma Thursby Diaries." Forty-one other small bound books, including
engagement books and address books have been housed in a similar sized box. Seventeen
engagement books with paper covers (which run from 1900 to 1916) have been housed
in pamphlet folders in a separate box with a large diary from 1898.

Series V: Awards, Ephemera, Notes (1850-1936)

Scope and Contents note

This series contains awards presented to Emma Thursby, ephemera and memorabilia belonging
to Emma and her family, and handwritten notes. Paper awards Emma Thursby received
from many clubs and organizations are included here; many copies exist of one award
presented to her by the Association des Artistes Musiciens, in 1879. The folder 'Handwritten
Notes' includes Emma Thursby's reminiscences.

Emma Thursby's ephemera include menus, placecards, the program from a concert given
by Jenny Lind in 1850, and a drawing of her tombstone. The "Keepsake Album" was given
to Emma by her father during her time at the Moravian Seminary; the Music Notebook
contains lists of song titles and song lyrics. Memorabilia belonging to Ina Thursby
also includes menus and placecards, as well as lists of correspondents and clippings.
Memorabilia belonging to John B. Thursby consists of his 1859 passport and business
cards.

Material in this series did not conform to the other series, or was originally separated
at the time of accession (such as the correspondence and clippings files of Emma Thursbys'
successful pupils).

Subseries 1: Emma Thursby (1880-1936)

Scope and Contents note

This subseries contains both personal and career-related material. Newspaper clippings
of reviews of Emma Thursby's performances are included. The folders pertaining to
some of Emma Thursby's most successful pupils include correspondence, programs, and
clippings of announcements and reviews. A typed list of attendees at Emma Thursby's
Friday salons is included, as is a handwritten list of her 1891 engagements (a complete
listing of each concert given by Emma Thursby can be found in Gipson's biography.)

The 'Clippings' folder contains clippings about Emma Thursby. 'Biographical Notes'
consist of typed and handwritten biographical details. Notes on musical education
and voice training, including drawings of scales and transcription of songs, are housed
separately. Emma Thursby possessed a Russian amulet, given to her by Emilia Rudersdorff,
which was lost in 1919. Sketches of the amulet and information about its origins and
loss are included here.

After Emma Thursby's death, Ina Thursby worked hard to assure that her sister's memory
would be preserved. She organized a radio broadcast of tributes to Emma on what would
have been Emma's 90th birthday, and commissioned a mosaic to be created in memory
of Emma. This mosiac, which featured St. Cecilia, the patron saint of music and Emma's
namesake, was donated to and installed at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. Information
and clippings about both ventures is included in this series.

Container 1

Container 2

Title

Date

Box: 11

Folder : 6

Biographical Information

1899-1933

Box: 11

Folder : 7

Brooklyn Museum Mosiac

1933

Box: 11

Folder : 8

Engagements

1891

Box: 11

Folder : 9

Performances of Emma Thursby, Clippings

1907-1922

Box: 11

Folder : 10

Performances of Emma Thursby, Critiques

1880-1881

Box: 11

Folder : 11

Pupils -- Emory, Rita Cornet

1902-1927

Box: 11

Folder : 12

Pupils -- Green Peggy/Princess Viggo

1924-1932

Box: 11

Folder : 13

Pupils -- Harris, Estelle

1900-1924

Box: 12

Folder : 1

Pupils -- Reddish, Meta (1 of 2)

1907-1936

Box: 12

Folder : 2

Pupils -- Reddish, Meta (2 of 2)

1907 -1936

Box: 12

Folder : 3

Pupils -- Schaffer, Josephine

1903 -1914

Box: 12

Folder : 4

Pupils -- Wittkowska, Martha

1903 -1931

Box: 12

Folder : 5

Radio Broadcast

1935

Box: 12

Folder : 6

Russian Amulet

1907-1919

Box: 12

Folder : 7

Salons, Attendees

1897-1923

Box: 12

Folder : 8

Voice Training/ Teaching Notes

1910-1921

Subseries 2: Thursby Family (1880-1938)

Scope and Contents note

This subseries includes information about Emma Thursby's immediate and extended families
and pets. 'Geneological Information' includes information on Thursby, Van Cott, and
Bennett family ancestors. Much of the Thursby information comes from the Thursby family
members in England whom Emma met during her time there in 1878.

The Mynah bird material includes an issue of
The Phrenological Journal and Phrenological Magazine with an article about Emma and the mynah bird in which it was purported that the
two had similar shaped skulls; thus accounting for their musical exploits. It also
includes information about how to care for the bird and a letter from the Pullman's
Palace Car Company giving permission for the bird to travel on the train with Emma
Thursby.

Container 1

Container 2

Title

Date

Box: 12

Folder : 9

Mynah Bird

1889-1899

Box: 12

Folder : 10

Thursby Biographical Information

1880-1938

Box: 12

Folder : 11

Thursby Genealogical Information

1905-1932

Subseries 3: Other Subjects (1879-1937)

Scope and Contents note

Other subjects are based on large amounts of information and clippings compiled by
Emma or Ina on important subjects to them; some of these subjects were originally
housed in their own envelopes upon accession.

Folders are devoted to Emma Thursby's close friends Ole Bull and Sarah Farmer. The
material on Sarah Farmer also includes correspondence pertaining to Ms. Farmer's illness
in the 1910s, and subsequent attempts to raise money to continue the colony Green
Acre in Eliot, Maine. Material devoted specifically to Green Acre, such as programs
of lectures and clippings, are housed separately. A blueprint of the Green Acre property
is housed in the oversize folder.

The folder 'Old Brooklyn' contains mainly clippings about and sketches of churches
Emma Thursby attended or was engaged by early in her career. A separate folder is
dedicated to items pertaining to Henry Ward Beecher, the pastor of Plymouth Church
in Brooklyn. This includes information on Beecher, and his church after the time of
his pastorship. The folder entitled 'Clippings' contains information about friends
of Emma Thursby, and other articles that do not fall under a more specific heading.

Emma Thursby spent much of the later part of her life engaged with inquiries into
philosophy and religion, as evidenced by her support of and attendance at Green Acre
programs and lectures, as well as her correspondence and friendship with the Swami
Vivekananda. Notes taken by Emma from lectures given by Vivekananda, as well as clippings
on pertinent topics and pamphlets detailing Eastern religious philosophies, are included
in this series. Some of Emma's notes describe yogic practices of breathing, others
are transcriptions of prayers.

Many amateur poets were inspired by Emma Thursby, judging from the volume of poetry
found in the collection. As well as those poems directly dedicated to her, Emma collected
clippings of poems from newspapers and magazines, and copied other poems herself.
These are all collected here.

Series VII: Autographs (1875-1910)

Scope and Contents note

Contains loose autographs and a bound autograph book, which was a gift to Emma Thursby
from her father. Many loose autographs were found throughout the collection; some
are the signatures of letters that have been cut up, others are more traditional signatures
on small pieces of paper.

Series VIII: Master Recordings of the Emma Thursby Musicale (1940)

Scope and Contents note

Box 16 is labeled '14 Master Recordings of the Proceedings at the Emma Thursby musicale
given at the New-York Historical Society, December 29, 1940 to honor her memory' and
contains 14 metal LPs marked #5226 -- #5238A.

Container 1

Title

Date

Box: 16

14 Master Recordings of the Proceedings of the Emma Thursby Musicale given at the
New-York Historical Society